Safety closure for liquid containers



Feb. 27, 1951 c, HAATVEDT 2,543,107

SAFETY CLOSURE FOR LIQUID CONTAINERS Filed April 14, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR oww ATTORNEYS Feb. 2'7, 195% E. c. HAATVEDT SAFETY CLOSURE FOR LIQUID CONTAINERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 14, 1949 ATTORNEYS Patented F eb. 27, 1951 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE Ervin C. Haatvedt, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Visugage, Inc., a corporation of New York Application April 14, 1949, Serial No. 87,408

15 Claims. 1

lhis invention relates to closures for liquid containers, more particularly of the type adapted to permit observation of the interior of such container.

Where a closure having a sight glass incorporated therewith is provided on a port or opening in a liquid container, the undersurface of the sight glass is likely to become obscured .due to condensation of vapor thereon or due to the coating thereof by evaporation or splashing of the contents of the container, thereby rendering the sight glass useless for its intended purpose.

This is especially true Where the liquid container is carried by an oil tanker, a railroad car, or by an airplane or other vehicle where there is a great deal of movement and vibration which is likely to cause splashing of the contents of the container on the undersurface of a sight glass and also where the vehicle carrying the container is subjected to varying ambient temperatures, such as may occur when the vehicle passes through various temperature zones.

Where the sight glass does become obscured and must be removed for cleaning, its removal for cleaning purposes and resultant opening of the port may not be feasible when the ship, railroad car, plane or other vehicle is in motion, for in such case some of the liquid in the container may splash from the open port with resultant waste and perhaps injury to the user if the container should contain a corrosive or poisonous liquid.

Even if there should not be such movement, Where the container is filled with a volatile liquid such as gasoline and the closure effects a liquid and air tight seal, if the sight glass is removed for cleaning and the liquid or air tight seal is broken, the hazard of sparking and explosion is incurred, aside from waste due to evaporation, and in addition the noxious fumes from such volatile liquid may cause asphyxiation, and such waste or possibility of asphyxiation is especially likely when considerable time is required to remove the sight glass, clean it and replace it on the container.

It is accordingly among the objects of the invention to provide a safety closure installation that may effect a liquid and air tight seal for a port in a liquid container, which closure is simple and compact in construction and has but few movable parts, none of which is delicate or likely to become out of order as by jamming or sticking. that may readily be installed on a liquid container without change in the construction thereof and with but a minimum of expense and the sight glass of which may readily be cleaned or removed for replacement without breaking the airtight seal of such container.

Desirably the sight glass is'mounted in a plate of larger area than the port, which plate is in sealing engagement with respect to such port and admits of lateral displacement for movement of the sight glass away from position directly over such port while still maintaining said plate in sealing engagement with such port.

In a preferred embodiment the plate is mounted upon a spacer member afiixed upon the container about such port, which spacer member comprises an upstanding hub against the upper rim of which the sight glass mounting plate is pressed thereby to afford space under the sight glass when the plate is displaced to facilitate cleaning of the underface of said sight glass.

Preferably a cover or cap is provided which may be positioned over the sight glass when the latter is aligned with the port to protect such glass from breakage, and releasable means are provided to lock the cover or cap in position over said sight glass and in sealing engagement with the rim of said hub.

In the accompanying drawings in which are shown one or more of various possible embodiments of the several features of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a liquid container with parts broken away showing the safety closure mounted thereon.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing, in dot and dash lines, the protective coverin released position,

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 with parts broken away showing the mounting plate displaced with the sight glass thereon in cleaning position, and,

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 with parts broken away illustrating another embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, the safety closure is illustratively shown mounted on the upper surface ll of a container 52 of the type generally employed for the transportation of gasoline or other liquids on oil tankers railroad tank cars and the like and having a port or opening l3 therein. Although such opening it is illustratively shown in the top of the container !2 it is of course to be understood that it could, if desired be in the side wall thereof.

A spacer member com r sing an upstanding hub 14 is desirably provided, the bore I5 of which may be coaxial with port-l3, said hub desirably having a flange or shelf 38 preferably formed integrally with and extending outwardly from its rim 22. Although said hub [4 could be formed integral with the container l2, rigidly affixed to the surface thereof as by welding, or threaded into said port, in the embodiment herein shown to illustrate my invention, the hub M desirably has an annular outwardly extending flange E6 on the lower end thereof desirably formed integral therewith. The flange i5 is preferably secured to the top surface H of the container by screws l1 passing through the flange l6 and threaded into suitable tapped openings iii in top surface H, a gasket l9 positioned between said flange l6 and said top surface ll making an air and liquid-tight seal therebetween.

A mounting plate 2| of area larger than port [3 is desirably provided positioned over said port with the underface of said plate positioned so that it may contact the rim 22 at the upper end of said hub i4, said plate thereby being spaced from the surface H of the container. To effect a seal between said plate 2i and flange 38 the latter desirably has an annular groove 5! therein encompassing the rim 22 of hub 14, in which groove is positioned a compressible or resilient ring or gasket 52 illustratively of rubber which may contact the undersurface of plate 2 I. A sight glass 23 is carried by said plate and preferably removably mounted thereon. The glass 2'3 is desirably positioned on a gasket 2 seated on an annular shoulder 25 formed in the inner wall of an upstanding hub 25 preferably formed integral with plate 2! and encompassing an opening 2'! therein. To retain the sight glass in place, a lock ring 28 is desirably provided, which may be screwed into the internally threaded upper end of hub 26, as by means of a conventional tool such as a spanner wrench which coasts with diametrically opposed notches 29 in the upper edge of the lock ring. Preferably a gasket 3! is interposed between the lock ring and the sight glass to afford an air and liquid-tight seal and also to prevent cracking of the glass when the lock ring is tightened.

The plate 2| is desirably mounted so that it may be moved laterally, as by means of a handle 33 affixed thereto, relative to the rim 2?. of hub l4 and maintained in frictional engagement therewith. To this end, the plate 2! is desirably pivoted, preferably near one edge thereof, on an upstanding stud 35 which extends through an opening 36 in plate 2! and which, although it may be rigidly supported in any suitable manner, is desirably affixed at its lower end as by force fit in an opening 37 in flange or shelf 38. Desirably a second stud M is also provided, securely affiXed in an opening 42 in flange 38 and extending upwardly therefrom desirably through an elongated arcuate slot 43 in plate 2|, said slot 43 being a portion of the circumference of a circle having stud 35 as its center.

The length of slot 43 is desirably such that when stud 4| abuts against the end 44 thereof as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the sight glass 23 will be coaxial with hub l4 and positioned directly over port l3 in the container. When the plate 2i is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction from the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 to the position shown in Fig. 3 until the end 55 of slot 43 abuts against stud M, the entire periphery of the sight glass 23 will extend laterally beyond the periphery of flange 58 which is preferably provided with a substantially arcuate notch 48 therein with which the edge of sight 4 glass 23 will register, thereby to permit ready access to the lower face of the sight glass.

It is of course to be understood that by making the mounting plate larger in size and elongating the arcuate slot 43, arcuate notch 46 could be dispensed with for the sight glass would then extend completely past the periphery or flange 38 and plate 2| would, in glass cleaning position, still completely cover the sight openmg.

In order to retain plate 21 pressed against flange 38 and gasket 52 therein to maintain the seal, the upper ends of studs and H are desirably threaded to receive nuts ll respectively, a split resilient lock washer 58 being desirably positioned between each of said nuts and said flange. In order to prevent undue loosening of said nuts, stop means are provided on the upper end of each of said studs which may desirably comprise a pin 49 extending through such upper end at right angles thereto which will permit only partial loosening of said nuts 57.

To prevent injury to the sight glass 23 when the latter is positioned directly over port l3, 2. cap or cover 54 is desirably provided which may be positioned over such sight glass to encompass the latter. Although the cover 54 could be screwed or otherwise afllxed to the hub 26, in order to permit rapid removal of such cover without need for tools and also to avoid the possibility of jamming of such cover in place due to stripping of threads if a screw type cover is used, the construction and arrangement shown in the drawings and hereinafter described is preferred.

To this end the cover 54 desirably has an annular groove 55 in the underface of the rim 55 thereof in which may be positioned a compressible or resilient sealing ring or gasket 5! which preferably has a thickness less than that of the groove so that when the upstanding rim 58 of hub 26 which protrudes above lock ring 28 is positioned in said groove against gasket 5! the cover will be centered thereon and restrained from lateral displacement.

To retain the cover 54 securely in place on rim 58 with the latter in sealing engagement with gasket 51, means are provided to urge the cover against said rim. Preferably a threaded rod BI is desirably provided rotatably mounted at its lower end in cover 54 and extending at right angles thereto. Although any one of several possible arrangements could be utilized for rotatably mounting rod Si, in a preferred construction herein illustratively shown, the lower end 62 of the rod BI is desirably unthreaded and of reduced diameter and of such length that with shoulder 63 formed by such reduced portion seated on the upper surface 54 of cover 54, end 62 will extend through and protrude slightly from an opening 65 in cover 54, end 62 of rod El being retained in said cover by means of a washer 6'! affixed thereagainst.

The rod 6|, which may have a handle 6'! at the upper end thereof to facilitate rotation, is desirably threaded through a tapped opening 68 in a cross arm 69. The latter is illustratively arcuate in shape and is positioned at each end between the upstanding spaced ears '1! of dia metrically opposed U-shaped brackets or posts 72. Although such brackets 12 could be mounted in any suitable manner, they are illustratively rigidly aifixed to and preferably integral with laterally projecting arms 13 desirably formed integral with flange 38. The cross arm 69 may be retained between the respective pairs of cars by means of removable pins 14 and 15 which extend through aligned openings in said ears and the associated ends of said cross arms respectively.

In the position of the closure installation, shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2, the threaded rod H has been rotated to clamp cover 54 against rim 58. In addition, nuts 41 have been tightened securely to clamp plate 2! against flange 38, the compressed gasket 52 between such members providing an air and liquid tight seal.

When it is desired to observe the interior of the container it is merely necessary to turn rod 65 to loosen the cover from rim 58, and to remove one of the pins, illustratively pin 15, and thereupon pivot arm 69 upwardly to the position shown in dot and dash lines in Fig. 2.

Should the undersurface of the sight glass be obscured, to afford visibility the user need merely loosen nuts 41 as limited by pins 49 and then by grasping handle 33, pivot plate 2| about stud 35 in a counterclockwise direction from the position shown in Fig. 1 as far as possible until stud 4! abuts against the end 45 of arcuate slot 43. In this position, as shown in Fig. 3, the sight glass 23 will extend beyond the periphery of flange 38 with a portion of the circumference of the sight glass positioned directly over the arcuate notch 46 in the flange 38. It is thereupon a relatively simple matter to wipe the undersurface of the sight glass, as the latter is spaced from the upper surface of the container by the intervening upstanding hub 14.

By reason of the downward force imparted to plate 2| by resilient lock washers 48 and the upward force imparted to such plate by reason of the resilient gasket 52 which will expand when the compression thereon has been reduced because of the loosening of nuts 41, a substantially air-tight and liquid-tight seal will be maintained between plate 2! and rim 22. Although the loosening of nuts 4'! will permit displacement of plate 2!, the pins 49 will limit such loosening so that at all times gasket 52 will be slightly compressed by plate 2! and hence will be retained in frictional engagement with the undersurface of the plate through its entire lateral movement, thus maintaining the seal.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 4, which is substantially identical to that shown in Figs. 1

to 3, parts corresponding to those of Figs. 1 to 3 have the same reference numerals primed. The mounting plate 2i is provided with two sight glasses 23 and 15. Thus when plate 2| is in the position shown in Fig. 4 with stud 4| against a;

the end 44' of arcuate slot 43', sight glass 15 will be positioned over the periphery of flange 33, which desirably is provided with an additional arcuate notch 15 therein with which sight glass 15 will be aligned and sight glass 23' will be directly over the port in the container l2.

With this construction if the user should find, for example, that the sight glass 23 is either obscured or has become broken, he may quickly pivot the plate 2! as heretofore described to move sight glass 15, after the latter has been cleaned, to operative position over the port in container l2, which motion will also move the obscured or defective sight glass 23' so that it is aligned with arcuate notch 46 in flange 38'. The obscured or defective sight glass may thereupon be cleaned or replaced at leisure.

With the constructions above described, a safety closure is provided for liquid containers which is simple and compact in construction, and

.6 which includes a'sight glass for convenient observation of the interior of such container while maintaining the latter in sealed condition and which sight glass may readily be cleaned on the undersurface thereof or removed for replacement without breaking the air and liquid-tight seal of the container and hence eliminates the possibility of waste of the contents of suchcontainer due to splashing :as well as the danger of explosion or asphyxiation through an open port.

As many changes could be made in the above construction, and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope of the claims, it, is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A safety closure for a port of a liquid container, said closure comprising a plate positioned over and of area larger than such port, and spaced from the surface of the latter, a sight glass in said plate normally positioned over such ort, means to effect a seal between said plate and such port, means pivotally mounting said plate to maintain the latter in sealing engagement with such port while affording substantially lateral displacement of said plate with respect to such port for moving said sight glass away therefrom to facilitate cleaning of the underface of said sight glass.

2. A safety closure of the type to be installed over a port in a liquid container, said closure comprising a plate, support means for said plate adapted to be affixed to the surface of such container thereby to space the plate therefrom over such port, a sight glass mounted in said plate and normally positioned over such port, means to effect a seal between said plate and such port, and means pivotally mounting said plate on said support means to maintain said seal while affording substantially lateral displacement of said plate with respect to such port, even when said plate is pivoted, to move said sight glass away from said plate mounting means and spaced from the surface of such container.

3. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which means are provided to limit the lateral displacement of said plate whereby at one extreme position of displacement of said plate said sight glass will be positioned directly over such port and at the other extreme position of displacement of said plate, said sight glass will be laterally displaced from such port.

4. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which means are provided to limit the lateral displacement of said plate, said means comprising an upstanding member rigidly affixed with respect to said support means, said plate having an arcuate slot therein through which said upstanding member extends, said arcuate slot being a portion of the circumference of a circle having the pivot point of said plate as a center, said arcuate slot being of such length that when the plate is pivoted to one extreme position with the upstanding member abutting against one end of said slot the sight glass will be positioned directly over such port and when the plate is dis placed to its other extreme position with the upstanding member abutting against the other end of said slot the sight glass will be laterally dis- 7 placed from said plate supporting means and such port.

5. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which a cover is provided for said sight glass and means are provided securely to retain said cover in position over said sight glass.

6. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which a cover is provided for said sight glass and means are provided securely to retain said cover in position over said sight glass when the latter is positioned over such port.

7. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which said plate has an openin therethrough and an upstandin hub is provided encompassing said opening and said sight glass is securely positioned in said hub below the upper rim thereof.

8. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which said plate has an opening therethrough and an upstanding hub is provided encompassing said opening and said sight glass is securely positioned in said hub below the upper rim thereof and a cover member is provided for said sight glass coacting with the rim of said hub, and means are provided coacting With said cover member securely to retain the latter in sealing engagement with said rim.

9. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which said plate has an opening therethrough and an upstanding hub is provided encompassing said opening, and said sight glass is securely positioned in said hub below the upper rim thereof and a cover member is provided for said sight glass coacting with the rim of said hub, and means are provided coacting with said cover member securely to retain the latter in sealing engagement with said rim, said last named means comprising a cross arm extending over said cover and affixed with respect to said hub and a stud rotatably mounted at its lower end to said cover and threaded through a tapped openin through said cross arm whereby when said stud is rotated, said cover will be compressed against the rim of said hub.

10. A safety closure of the type to be installed over a port in a liquid container, said closure comprising an upstanding spacer member secured to the surface of such container about such port, said spacer member having an annular laterally extending flange on the upper end thereof, a plate having an opening therein, a sight glass afilxed to said plate coaxial with said opening, an upstanding stud affixed to said flange and extending through said plate near the edge thereof pivotally to mount said plate on said flange, said plate having an arcuate slot therein forming part of the circumference of a circle using said stud as a center, a second upstanding stud aflixed to said flange and extending through said arcuate slot, means on said studs releasably to retain said plate against said flange, means to effect a seal between said plate and said flange, said arcuate slot being of such length that when said plate is pivoted to one extreme position with said second named stud abutting against one end of said arcuate slot, said sight glass will be positioned directly over said spacer member and such port and when said plate is pivoted to its other extreme position with the other end of said arcuate slot abutting against said second named stud, said sight glass will be laterally displaced from said spacer member and such port, said seal being maintained in each of said extreme positions and therebetween.

11. The combination set forth in claim 10 in which said plate has an upstanding hub about the opening therein, said hub having an annular shoulder on the inner wall thereof, a gasket seated on said annular shoulder, said sight glass being seated on said gasket, a second gasket positioned on the edge of said sight glass and a lock ring releasably mounted in said hub on said second gasket thereby securely clamping said sight glass in place.

12. The combination set forth in claim 10 in which said ledge has an arcuate notch in the periphery thereof whereby when said plate is pivoted, said sight glass may extend over said arcuate notch thereby to facilitate the cleaning of the underface thereof.

13. The combination set forth in claim 10 in which said plate has an upstanding hub about the opening therein, and said sight glass is positioned in said hub beneath the rim thereof and a cover member is provided for said sight glass, and means are provided to retain said cover member in sealing engagement with the rim of said hub, said means comprisin a rod rotatably mounted at its lower end on said cover, a cross arm having a tapped opening therethrough in which said rod is threaded, means pivotally to mount said cross arm and means to retain said cross arm in fixed position over said hub and said sight glass with said cover positioned directly over said hub whereby when said rod is rotated said cover will be retained in sealing engagement with said rim.

14. The combination set forth in claim 13 in which said cover has an opening therethrough and said rod has a reduced portion at the lower end thereof forming a shoulder, said reduced portion extending through and protruding beyond the lower edge of said opening, a washer of larger diameter than said openin and a screw extending through said washer into a tapped opening in the lower end of said rod securely to clamp said washer thereagainst whereby said rod will be securely yet rotatably mounted in said opening between said washer and said shoulder formed at the reduced end of said rod.

15. A safety closure of the type to be installed over a port in a liquid container, said closure comprising an upstanding spacer hub member secured to the surface of such container about such port, said hub member having an annular laterally extending flange at the upper end thereof, a plate having a pair of openings therein, a pair of sight glasses aflixed to said plate coaxial with each of said openings respectively, an upstanding stud afliXed to said flange and extending through said plate near the edge thereof pivotally to mount said plate on said flange, said plate having an arcuate slot therein formin part of the circumference of a circle using said stud as a center, a second upstanding stud aiflxed to said flange and extending through said arcuate slot, means on said studs releasably to retain said plate against said flange, means to effect a seal between said plate and said flange, said arcuate slot being of such length that when said plate is pivoted to one extreme position with said second named stud abutting against one end of said arcuate slot, said sight glass will be positioned directly over said hub and such port and when said plate is pivoted to its other extreme position with the other end of said arcuate slot abutting against said second named stud, said sight glass will be laterally displaced from said hub and such port, said seal being 10 maintained in each of said extreme positions and REFERENCES CITED therebetween and said flange has a pair of The following references are of record in the ate notches therein whereby in one extreme posime of this patent: tion of said plate one of said sight glasses will be positioned over said port and the other of said 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS sight glasses will be positioned over one of said Number Name Date arcuate notches and in the other extreme posi- 216,985 Tyrrell July 1, 1879 tion of said plate, said first named sight glass 672,641 Hirt Apr. 23, 1901 will be positioned over the other arcuate slot in 1,489,098 Pearson et a1. Apr. 1, 1924 said flange and said second named sight glass 10 2,064,238 Yegen Dec. 15, 1936 will be positioned over such port.

ERVIN C. HAATVEDT. 

